--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. SEC decides to make comment letters freely available to the public

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced recently that it will provide full public access to the comment letters sent by agency staffers to companies about questionable items in corporate filings. Until now the comment letters (and responses from companies) had to be obtained through a FOIA request. Beginning August 1, comment letters and responses will be available through the EDGAR system on the SEC site and via commercial services. The SEC release on the subject can be found atwww.sec.gov/news/press/2004-89.htm.

Greenpeace has introduced a new website that uses animated social-networking displays to document the ties between ExxonMobil and the corporate-funded think tanks and researchers who strive to downplay the significance of climate change--and thus the culpability of the oil industry. The site, called Exxon Secrets <www.exxonsecrets.org>, is described as the first chapter of a Greenpeace effort to create "a research database of information on the corporate funded anti-environmental movement." The information on the site builds on the work of the Clearinghouse on Advocacy and Environmental Research <www.clearproject.org>. Note that Exxon Secrets requires the installation of Flash 7 Player. Thanks to Charlie Cray and Casey Harrell for alerting us to the site.

ChoicePoint Inc., the powerhouse in the public records industry, is growing even larger. It recently announced the acquisition of Investigation Technologies LLC, which operates Rapsheets Criminal Records <www.rapsheets.com>, a service for businesses and individuals. Among ChoicePoint's other holdings is Database Technologies, which is infamous for its role in 2000 in helping Florida officials improperly remove thousands of people from the voting rolls.

Tyson Slocum has brought our attention to a new study of the relationship between the composition of boards of directors and the incidence of fraud among corporations. The analysis, published in the May/June 2004 issue of the Financial Analysts Journal, found that boards with a greater proportion of independent directors are less likely to be accused of fraud. An abstract of the article can be found at www.aimrpubs.org/faj/issues/v60n3/abs/f0600033a.html.

There is a new development in the ongoing tug of war over public access to Congressional Research Service reports. Despite the desire of Congress to keep these valuable documents to itself, another effort is being made to build a publicly available online repository. This latest effort is being carried out by the Thurgood Marshall Law Library at the University of Maryland. See:www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/ElectronicResources/crsreports/crsreports.asp?AlphaStart=ALL

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. WashTech report on offshore outsourcing by state governments

The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech), an affiliate of the Communication Workers of America, has released a report on the offshore outsourcing of public work by state governments. The report, titled YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK...OFFSHORE, was prepared for WashTech by Dirt Diggers editor Phil Mattera in his capacity as director of the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First. The report includes profiles of 18 offshore outsourcing firms (mostly from India) that are targeting the state government market. The profiles include some financial data and lists of the firms' private sector clients in the United States. The report can be found at <www.washtech.org> or <www.goodjobsfirst.org>.